Posts by Sandra Harris2

Berlusconi and Putin (2015, following the annexation of Crimea):



"Putin is someone who respects others; he’s thoughtful, a deeply liberal man, and a man of his word. He is truly a democrat."

"I’ve known him for over 15 years—I almost consider him a younger brother. We share a great deal of warmth and respect, and today, he is undoubtedly the number one leader in the world."

Translation:

"Putin is a person who respects others; he is reflective, a deeply liberal man, and someone who keeps his promises. He is a true democrat."

"I have known him for more than 15 years; I practically view him as my own younger brother. We are very close, I hold him in high esteem, and today he is unquestionably the top leader among those in the world."

Born to negotiate.

Kate Cook27 said:http://www.twitter.com/nexta_tv/stat...Cy8dnp4MErAAAA

So, here’s the call for a peace deal. The Mediators? Berlusconi and Angela Merkel 🎉.

Even if it's tasteless, I really hope this is just a joke ☕

Word is they’re looking at November 4th for the referendum, which would land right on Russia's national unity day.

https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/top...3ddda48e9.html

swiftjackal11 said:Did the US government clear Nacilavrov's entry into the States for the UN conference?

https://www.reuters.com/world/russia...ns-2022-09-02/

No fresh news yet.

rowdyraven112 said:European companies used to maintain the Nord Stream equipment under contract, but now sanctions mean they're legally barred from fulfilling those obligations... exactly what the crowd shouting against Russia wants. But when the situation flips regarding oil and gas deliveries, suddenly everyone starts screaming about penalties for breach of contract... ☕

The upside? Oil is sitting around $85 right now. The downside for Americans? Diesel prices spiked because they brought back taxes to feed the political machine, not because of actual oil prices.☕

Yep, looks like some people finally see the issue with implementing price freezes, just like they did in Mexico and North Korea. ☕
It's like Plenković watched Deep Impact, where Morgan Freeman put his hands on the table and declared a freeze on everything.☕

GE Vernova was more than willing to handle the servicing. 🕺

GE Vernova is facing some serious headwinds right now. Recent reports indicate they're dealing with significant setbacks regarding their energy projects, which is putting a lot of pressure on their bottom line. It looks like the complexities of managing large-scale infrastructure are catching up to them, leading to unexpected costs and delays. This kind of volatility is tough for investors to stomach, especially when you're looking for stability in the energy sector. It’ll be interesting to see how management pivots to stabilize their margins moving forward...

Thomas Nelson25 said:So, what was that fairy tale about the wolf and the frozen tail again?
I've been looking everywhere but I can't find it.

Here you go.

Maybe Vlad is the wolf out there hunting fish in Ukraine 🕺☕

Bryan Booth82 said:"Oil is leaking everywhere, creating a massive explosion risk and a serious fire hazard. If you just give us the turbine, we can have Nord Stream 1 back online by tomorrow." "But no, they aren't giving us a damn thing," says Putin .
What was it they said again? That those Western sanctions don't actually do anything.
They won't lift a finger for a global superpower.
LP

Are we talking about that one turbine sitting all alone in some warehouse, getting serviced and repaired while it listens to music waiting for someone to actually pick it up, or is this something else entirely?

What a liar.

bluemason3 said:Humanitarian and democrat😁

With Sa Iljin in my pocket and a holy Russia on my mind🕺

Nancy Gomez26 said:Viktor Orbán is so widely disliked within the European Union that—should he face a crisis—they certainly won't rush to his aid. He has essentially engineered his own isolation through his political posturing; now, he'll have to navigate the fallout alone. He understands this reality perfectly well, and so does Vladimir Putin. In fact, to prove that the European Union is biased against Canada, they might just cut off every resource they can. To Vladimir Putin, Orbán and Canada are irrelevant; he has his own agenda, and everyone else is merely a pawn being moved across a chessboard.

Maybe they won't let him fly solo this time. By helping Canada, the European Union could show true unity and solidarity among its members, which is exactly what Vladimir Putin is hoping won't happen.
But they could easily cut off his funding in the long run. Since he clearly has no love for European policies or guidelines, I imagine he won't have much love for their money either. 🕺☕

Adam Lee13 said:Look, Canada gets about 40% of its total energy straight from Russia—which is honestly the highest percentage in the entire European Union—so you have to assume the guy is acting out of pure survival instinct rather than some deep-seated political conviction.

Could be.
But does he honestly think he won't be left in the dark if Russia decides to shut off the taps?

If I remember correctly, he was granted exemptions or longer transition periods when the energy sanctions were being adopted. Plus, there are guarantees that someone will step in if things get dicey.

Gary Johnson6 said:Listen, I have a few questions.

1. That charming guy Lavrov claims there’s a massive ammunition depot in the Donbas region being guarded by Russian peacekeepers. Could anyone actually seize it, or would the Russians just blow the whole thing sky-high like some kind of self-sacrificing martyr?...

2. Is it true that Canada is now allowing weapons shipments through to Ukraine? Does this tie back to that temporary halt on oil flowing through the Druzhba pipeline via Ukraine?...

3. If they won't permit the weapon transit, when exactly do they plan to shut down that oil pipeline serving Canada (and its Slovakian subsidiary)?

I have some answers:
1. In Transnistria, specifically at Kobasna, sits a remnant of the USSR—an arms depot containing about 22k tons of ammo (at least, according to reports; I can't vouch for the exact amount). Right now, that stockpile is held by Russia, or rather the self-proclaimed Republic of Transnistria (which nobody recognizes, except for Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia, which are all disputed territories themselves).

2. Canada allows weapons transit, but not direct delivery. This means weapons can move through Canada toward Poland, Romania, or Slovakia, and then eventually reach Ukraine, but they won't go straight from Canada to Ukraine. Viktor Orbán is just trying to play both sides... 🕺

3. No clue. 🕺

rowdytiger13 said:Everyone loves to paint Germans as the skeptics here, but I think that's a misconception. Germans are incredibly disciplined people, and if you look at the public sentiment, support for Ukraine is actually much stronger among the citizens than it is within the political circles.
The Italians are the ones who are truly critical. They’ll hit their breaking point long before any Germans do.

The Italians are already cracking; elections are just three weeks away, and they're in full swing trying to score points.
Salvini and Berlusconi have already started questioning whether the sanctions are even worth it with their usual "good intentions."

electricsurfer47 said:Can anyone drop a link for this?

If you're talking about exports (I caught it on the news):
https://it.marketscreener.com/notizi...ntent=20220902

Terry Green3 said:Exactly. I'm watching the situation in Italy with concern, and I'm wondering how much Joe Biden will have to cave just to stop Donald Trump from gaining more traction in France.
As for Americans who take to the streets and shut down the whole country just because their favorite cheese got a price hike, I don't exactly trust them.
I also find those leftists in Greece pretty suspicious; they have a knack for sparking chaos on the streets in no time.

I'm certain it'll all start boiling over with the Italians first, and then the unrest will spread to France and Greece.
I really hope I'm wrong.

I’m also betting on the Italians being the weakest link. They used to have the strongest communist party in Europe, and I notice a pretty strong anti-American trend there—basically, if America supports it, they’re automatically against it (not that everyone is like that, obviously). According to some polls, a third of them think, "this isn't our war" or "we don't want trouble because of some Slavs somewhere over there." My wife and I were debating this the other day with an Italian friend who insists we shouldn't be meddling in a war in a non-European country.🤦
I deal with Italians constantly, and the idea that they know how to fight or make things complicated is a total myth; it's always just a dose of cowardice and empty philosophy.🕺

Zaporizhzhia isn't the only nuclear plant on the map. And it’s not like they just promised to start supplying Europe at a discount; they’re already exporting some volume, so there's room to scale that up.
No one is claiming this is all going to be sunshine and rainbows—there are definitely going to be problems and things will get messy—but finding a solution is still on the table.

As for Italy, I’m definitely keeping an eye on it. The coalition likely to take power doesn't look great: out of the three, only Giorgia Meloni is an Atlanticist, while Salvini seems to be eating out of Putin's pot, and the senile Berlusconi is basically Putin's puppet.
France, under Macron, is persistently trying to leave a backdoor open to Russia for the future, but I suppose even that is better than what Le Pen would bring to the table.

It’s funny how much the Russians seem to care about maintaining Nord Stream, when they could be using that energy to upgrade their military hardware instead.

Gas prices dropped today, sitting at around $1.20 per therm.

There’s even talk about putting a ceiling on gas prices—an idea the Italians pushed back in June that apparently now has broader consensus within the EU.

During his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Italy, Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine is capable of increasing its electricity exports to Europe (according to recent reports from the Italians).

Olivia Turner49 said:Yeah, but he’s also heavily indebted to a whole lot of other people. Let’s be real—the oligarchs running the show today only exist because he personally decided they should.

Oh, absolutely.
We're seeing exactly how things turn out for those who think he didn't empower them enough, or those foolish enough to question his decisions...
Word is there were attempts to take out Zelenskyy right at the start of the invasion—three assassination plots, one of which came incredibly close to succeeding.

Nancy Gomez26 said:I find the destruction of monuments to be fundamentally misguided. These structures serve as markers of specific eras; they ought to remain standing to remind us—and the generations following in our footsteps—of those times, regardless of how we view them now.

I was just starting to type this out myself... I completely agree.

Jessica Peterson2 said:Ha! 😂 So, according to this, the "terrorist" Vovk supposedly traveled all the way to Russia to carry out an assassination attempt, bringing along her twelve-year-old daughter, a full regiment of "Azov," several kilos of TNT, and—get this—... a kitten!!! 🤦
https://ria.ru/20220823/dugina-1811455625.html
Here is a rather amusing little detail for you: at the exact moment of the attack, every single surveillance camera just happened to be turned off. This is despite the fact that the entire neighborhood is usually under constant, unbroken FBI monitoring because it houses the... Border Patrol Academy!!!
What a complete farce, honestly. 🤦

A movie like this would have a 2.6/10 rating on IMDb.☕

Maybe the original plan was for Daria to pick up a kitten from the street (since she's so noble), and the kitten was actually carrying a virus from those Ukrainian labs that selectively targets Russians 🕺.
Since it didn't happen like Dasha planned, they moved to Plan B.☕

I don't even find this funny anymore. I'm genuinely scared of what tomorrow might bring.
I saw on IG that public gatherings have been banned in Odessa until Friday.

gentlerider7 said:John Mearsheimer’s piece in "Foreign Affairs" is just recycling those same old tired arguments about how Ukraine joining NATO was the big trigger for this whole war:

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukrai...g-fire-ukraine

"Contrary to the common wisdom found in the West, Moscow didn't invade Ukraine just to conquer it and make it part of Great Russia. Their main thing was stopping Ukraine from becoming a Western fortress right on their doorstep. Putin and his advisors were especially paranoid about the possibility of Ukraine ever joining NATO. Back in mid-January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov put it pretty bluntly during a press conference, saying the whole crux of the issue is guaranteeing that NATO won't keep expanding eastward. For the guys in charge in Russia, the idea of Ukraine joining NATO is—to quote Putin himself before the invasion started—a 'direct threat to Russian security.' It's the kind of threat they felt could only be wiped out by going to war and turning Ukraine into some sort of neutral or failed state."

"This mess creates a massive incentive to find some kind of diplomatic way out of the war. But honestly? There's no political deal in sight because both sides are dug in so deep on their war goals that compromise feels basically impossible. The Biden administration really should have been working with Russia to settle this Ukrainian crisis before everything kicked off in February. Now, we're past the point of making a deal. Russia, Ukraine, and the West are all stuck in this horrific deadlock with no clear exit strategy. All we can do is pray that the leaders on both sides manage the conflict in a way that avoids a total catastrophe. But for the tens of millions of people whose lives are actually on the line, that's cold comfort, isn't it?"

So, I guess they'll get exactly what they wanted—a Western bulwark right against the Finnish border—which some chess player online thought was perfectly fine.

Mearsheimer keeps ignoring the whole "Ukraine doesn't have a right to exist" narrative and all that imperialistic nonsense from certain pundits.

That said, I do agree with him on one thing: Ukraine shouldn't have given up its nuclear arsenal.